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Westgate
Although put on the Aradian map prior to the Demon Wars, Westgate was avoided by the Aradians until Harold Umbridge finally climbed the treacherous cliffs in 962AE. Prior to his climb, the land had been seen as a sheer rockface on all sides and no vegetation had been seen on the cliffs themselves. However, the plateau atop the island held fertile grasslands... and strange ruins. Although clearly thousands of years old, these ruins were still intact. They led into the depths of the island, the cliffs harboring magnificent caverns filled with underground rivers, mines, and hidden passages. Harold Umbridge quickly established himself as Lord of Westgate and set about bringing settlers to farm the lands above, and live in the lands below. The old ruins are mostly intact, the new city rising up beside them, around them, below or above them in the caverns. The city (also named Westgate to simplify matters) has grown quickly over the past half century thanks to elevators. The only other settlement on Westgate is a village on the surface where animal husbandry is the trade. A decade ago, Westgate finally celebrated the opening of a proper harbor - one that didn't involve ridiculous elevator trips to get off the cliffs. It took almost forty years to get through the walls of the cavern and force an opening to the ocean. Westgate Harbor is now within the island itself in a vast underwater cavern. There is a distinct lack of Grimalkin in Westgate. The settlers Umbridge originally brought in were uniformly human. Although known as an agricultural haven, Westgate exports very little in the way of food. It is known for its varied ore and stone production - resources often traded for wood which the island greatly lacks in. A vast forest has been planted on the cliffs of the island as of thirty years ago, but the trees act as a wind barrier for the fields rather than anything else - they are gnarled and deformed by the wind. The Ruins The ruins have baffled archaeologists since they were finally allowed access to them at the opening of Westgate Harbor in 1003AE. They are sized as if for a larger man than a human - like that of an orc or even larger, but their design is far too elegant and deliberate to be crafted by such a beastly race. On the surface of Westgate stands a massive stone building. Archaeologists claim it was a meeting place or simply an exit from the darkened halls below. It is referred to commonly (and perhaps ironically) as the Sun Hall due to its absence of a roof. A massive ramp spirals down from the Sun Hall below ground and enters into the massive ruins of a city. Part of the original main street is used to get to the more modern city of Westgate. It is illegal to inhabit the ruins, but children often explore the cavernous houses left behind. Archaeologists often blame the citizens of Westgate for what they term 'forty years of neglect' - unable to find relics that would tell them of these ancient peoples. There is a black market in Westgate selling those so-called 'relics'. Apparently these are what have brought considerable wealth to Westgate in the past ten years, flooding the economy with the gold of dumb nobles. These ruins are rumored to have a link with the ruins in Sylvie Isle and Caybourne.